Haunted
by Linxcat
Summary: Draco is haunted by a ghost of his past...is he back? Has what they were dreading really come true? DracoxPansy, Scorpius
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One - The Mark

Draco couldn't sleep.

It was thundering something terrible outside and the air was stiflingly humid. He'd been trying to sleep for hours and hours…Pans had been out like a light after their busy day, but for some reason he was so restless…and to top it all, his left arm was throbbing.

He climbed out of bed and trudged to the window, where he pulled the curtain aside to let a sliver of moonlight cascade into the bedroom. He tugged up his left pyjama sleeve and thrust out his arm.

In the silvery light, he could make out a scar along the inside of his forearm. A skull with a snake coiling round it, head protruding from the ghostly grin.

_Its over. He's gone._

Draco shuddered. Although physically the haunting tattoo was almost gone, inside his scars would never completely heal. The days of fear and hiding and death were gone, but he couldn't shake that horrible feeling that he was being watched…haunted…he had betrayed his master. He had married his girlfriend Pansy Parkinson two years after the Battle at Hogwarts and they had a son now, he was happier than he had ever been in his life.

His happiness was his betrayal.

When he had felt like this before, he'd talked to Pansy. She'd comforted him like she had done when they were teenagers, reassuring him that You-Know-Who was dead and gone and that he had nothing to fear until his son's magic started showing (goodness knows what would happen then). She could not pretend that she knew exactly what he was going through, but she understood him and stood by him - that was what mattered.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He turned to look back at the bed. All he could see of his wife was a shock of ebony hair, dark against the white pillow. He wished he could be as deeply sleeping as she was.

With a sigh, he pulled down his left sleeve again. He fanned himself with his hand, then turned back to open the window. He'd managed to force open the stubborn handle, but what he saw surprised him so much he dropped it. It hit the glass with a loud _clang_.

"No…" he breathed, edging backwards, unable to take his eyes off it in horror.

"Draco?" came her voice. He quickly swept the curtains closed again and spun to face her. He managed to persuade his features into nonchalance, tugging at his left sleeve.

"Sorry Pans, did I wake you up?"

She rubbed her eyes, smudging the leftover eyeliner a little and making them look even larger. Her mouth opened in a wide yawn, lips startlingly red against the pale backdrop of her skin. She frowned at him.

"What is it, Draco? You look like you've seen a ghost."

_I have._

"Its nothing, love, just go back to sleep."

"Don't be an idiot. I can see there's something wrong. What is it?"

"Its _nothing_, honestly, everything's fine, I was just-"

_Crack!_

Lucius Malfoy apparated into the bedroom, his white blond hair a little haphazard, looking rather like he'd dressed in a hurry. Pansy squeaked in surprise.

"Draco, Pansy, are you safe? Where's Scorpius? Is he alright?" he asked, face drawn in uncharacteristic anxiety.

"Everything's fine, father." Draco said in what he hoped was a convincing tone. It wasn't.

"So it's not one of you? Thank Merlin, your mother was so concerned-"

"Father…you saw it too?"

"I did. It's bad news, Draco. The Notts have contacted me…apparently-"

Pansy knew a chance when she saw one. She climbed silently out of bed and crossed the room to the window, where she flung the green lace curtains apart.

She screamed


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - Safe?

The piercing scream echoed in all corners of the room. Draco actually stepped forwards, ready to catch her if she fell, but she didn't. She stood stock-still, transfixed by the sight. Finally, she moved, turning her head.

"Oh…Merlin…Draco…its _him_…"

A skull and snake were embossed on the clouds, the serpent hissing and slithering out of the open jaw to raise its head and sneer at the onlookers. The most dreaded sign in the history of magic.

The Dark Mark.

Draco felt his gaze drawn involuntarily to the symbol. He could feel the blood thundering through his arm, pulsing, he could almost see the snake's head wriggling on the vein at his wrist…

_No. No! NO!_

"I've got to go, father. I can't…I've got to know…if it really is…_him_." He croaked.

Lucius turned to him. "I know," he said quietly, then, "The ministry is already on it without a doubt. Mr Zabini contacted me before I came over, he gave me the coordinates. Cissy didn't want me to tell you…she thought-"

"She knew I'd want to come," Draco finished, pulling on his clothes. All conversation trailed off at the sound of the door creaking open. A small head poked round it.

"Mummy…I'm scawed…the thundew's weally louwd…" Scorpius whimpered.

"Ohh…Scorpy, come here," Pansy snapped out of her trance and scooped her son up in her arms. He wrapped his arms around her neck and looked fearfully around. His eyes lit up when he noticed his grandfather. "Mummy, why's gwandfafer here?"

"Grandfather's here, Scorpy, 'cause…someone's done something very bad." Draco explained, tugging down his shirt then touching the boy gently on the head. The child's eyes widened in horror.

"Wot…like stealing extwa cookies?" he gasped. Draco smiled weakly.

"Yes, Scorpy, just like stealing cookies. And Grandfather and I are going to go find him. You and mummy need to go to the summerhouse," he addressed the last part to Pansy mainly. Her eyes were wide and fearful, but she bit her lip and nodded. "You'll be safe there."

"Draco," said Lucius softly. There were already a few dark figures visible, shooting across the sky towards the source of the Mark.

Draco kissed Scorpius gently on the head, then ruffled his white-blond hair. The boy reminded him so much of himself, except he was so much more carefree.

"Be safe." Pansy murmured as he embraced her for what he hoped was not the last time.

"I will." He replied, kissing her tenderly. He gave them both one last weak smile, before grasping his father's forearm and disapparating with a _crack_.

Pansy rushed to the window, fingers grasping the ledge. Lightning flickered and cracked across the sky, lighting up the bedroom for a moment. Thunder roared.

_The weather couldn't be more appropriate _she thought fearfully.

She turned to her son, trying for a reassuring smile. "Let's go."

A few moments later, the two Malfoys apparated into a small cottage by the Cornish Coast. Pansy sat her son down on the sofa and wrapped him in a rug, whilst waving her wand at the fireplace and igniting a roaring blaze. She marched into kitchen and began to prepare some hot chocolate - simply for something to do. She knew she wasn't going to sleep, so she might as well do something helpful.

A few minutes later, she walked back into the living room and handed her son the warm cup.

"Mum?"

"Yes Scorpius?"

"Is the bad man coming to get us?"

Pansy gazed down into her mug. They were Malfoys - part of possibly the most infamous pureblood family in the country. If You-Know-Who really was back, they would be hunted down like dogs.

"No, sweetie." She lied, smiling and stroking her son's hair.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three - The Joker

Pansy had already completed the daily chore of hair brushing and curling. She sighed and laid her wand down beside her. She couldn't concentrate at all, the constant overpowering dread of what could be happening underneath that skull and snake in the sky taking over her mind if she let it wonder. So she didn't. She stood up and sat beside her sleeping son, stroking his hair back from his face.

A fond memory stirred in her mind. A train ride on a crimson locomotive. She had sat and stroked equally white-blond locks from a different boy's face, gazing lovingly at him.

Draco.

She rubbed her eyes and glanced up at the clock. It was a quarter to three in the morning - he'd been gone just over an hour. An hour for a man's life.

A horrible thought struck her - what would she do if Draco died that morning? She had enough money. The Malfoys wouldn't disown her - Narcissa was a second mother to her. But it would be so lonely…two people in a huge mansion. And what about when Scorpius went to school?

Even if Draco didn't die…what if he came back intact bearing bad news of You-Know-Who? They would have to go into hiding. Scorpius wouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts. They might even go abroad. And Draco…he would want to fight. He would feel, having that stupid 'noble prat' trait that many males seemed to posses, that somehow it was _his_ fault. What if he walked out of the door, and the next time she saw him was in a coffin?

Pansy pressed her hands to her face. Draco had been her best friend for as long as she could remember - she couldn't bear if he got hurt. Scorpius would have to grow up with a snatched childhood, constantly in fear…

_Its not fair!_

Things had only started getting back to normal. Draco was healing, his scar had almost faded…

She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth. She'd heard stories of the casualties in the Battle of Hogwarts - Remus and Nymphadora Lupin (her cousin-in-law?) had both died. Remus had gone to fight and Dora had followed, leaving behind a baby son. Would she go and fight by Draco's side? Could she bear to leave Scorpius, face that the consequences could leave him without either parent?

She closed her eyes. Her husband or her son - what kind of a cruel decision was that?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud _crack_.

It was him.

His face was paler the normal, his eyes wide and haunted. He was drenched from head to foot. She jumped up and threw her arms around him.

"Draco!" she gasped in relief. Then she pulled back, surveying him, "You're not hurt. You're ok."

"A joke." He croaked. She stared.

"What?"

"It was a joke. Just a joke. Someone sold muggles Dark Mark fireworks."

Pansy's mouth dropped open, "No…"

Draco was shaking now, and not from the wet or cold. "I swear, if I could get my hands on whoever…"

"Its alright, Draco. Its over. The Ministry'll find the sick person that did it and bang him up in Azkaban. And heaven help whoever it is if your father finds him first."

"No, Pans. Its not all right…I was so…so _scared_. I-I'm not supposed to be scared, I'm a Malfoy, I'm not supposed to feel anything…and I was so angry. But not normal anger - Merlin's pants, I felt like some kind of Gryffindor - it was righteous anger…"

Draco sank down on the sofa, head in his hands, still reeling with relief and rage. Pansy could feel the fear and anxiety ebbing out of her as she slowly, for the second time, accepted the death of Voldemort. He was gone and he wasn't coming back.

She turned and looked at her husband. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily. She hoped he was asleep - it would do him some good. She knew that what had happened in his teenage years would always haunt him, but she knew he was starting to heal.

Her gaze moved to Scorpius. If Draco could heal, perhaps there was hope for their son. Hope for a future free from the ghosts of their past.


End file.
